IT was a decent day all round for York City Knights as they collected another three Kingstone Press League One points with a comprehensive victory over unknown quantity Coventry Bears.

Well, it would have been but for injury to in-form hooker Kriss Brining.

The Knights set their stall out from the off with two tries inside seven minutes in a commanding first-half performance which garnered five touchdowns without reply en route to a 42-10 win.

There was an encouraging debut from on-loan Huddersfield prop Micky Learmonth, who likewise made an instant impression on the visitors, as he bust a tackle with only his second touch upon entering the fray, to set up a try for Harry Carter.

And there was also the announcement - as had been leaked - that Lee Waterman, a try machine at this level in the past for both York and Doncaster, was on his way back to the club after three and a bit years at the Keepmoat.

What's more, there was not even a hint of rain - so no need for brollies or waterproofs for the fans who put aside the community stadium wrangling to turn up and cheer on Ford's deserving troops at the modest Clifton Park.

Most of the cheering was done in a good-quality first half, before the second half turned a bit humdrum.

York had gone into the game with captain James Haynes still out, with Liam Cunningham and Colton Roche having joined the injured list and with Pete Aspinall starting a two-match ban.

But they were on the board within four minutes as a smart grubber from Jonny Presley saw half-back partner Pat Smith touch down.

Three minutes later - with Coventry's only touch of the ball having come in the game's very first set - Smith ducked and darted close, and Brining burrowed over for his ninth try in seven outings this term.

The 21-year-old is increasingly looking like a more-than-capable replacement for departed Championship One Player of the Year Jack Lee, not least with his ability to get over the whitewash from dummy-half.

However, it wasn't long before he left the fray, a broken thumb set to rule him out until June - including the big Challenge Cup tie at St Helens next month when he could have put himself firmly in the shop window.

Greg Minikin, like Brining, could be catching the eye of scouts again, and he too added to his growing reputation when superbly scything through and beating Josh Guzdek with a body swerve to bag the third try.

The hosts were going at a point a minute when Learmonth blasted between two men on half-way and sent Carter scampering away to make it 20-0.

Such was the hosts' dominance, it took Coventry 28 minutes to have a set in York territory, it finally arriving after a mix-up gave them a scrum in centre-field.

However, the ball went to ground and, after sub Brad Nicholson made good yards to set up a counter attack, Tyler Craig - on his return to the side - broke through inside his own half and sprinted 60 metres to the line, just about beating the cover from the lightning quick Jamahl Hunte.

Ben Dent had converted the first two tries but not the other three, and brother Adam also missed a half-chance to up the lead before the break, unable to collect a Presley chip.

Nevertheless, he was gifted a try a minute after the resumption after Bears full-back Guzdek, having caught a high ball near his own line, passed to winger Hunte – whose handling was not as impressive as his pace.

Dent picked up the loose ball and crossed, Ben converting.

Coventry could have buckled but instead they knuckled down and, as the second half became a bit flat with the contest over, they got due reward on the back of two penalties - hooker Richard Hughes digging in after five tackles on the York line, fellow sub Stephen Coleman converting.

The game seemed to be petering out before York bagged two cracking converted tries on 70 and 73 minutes.

Carter set up the first with a weaving run which became more astonishing with each player he beat. He was eventually brought to ground but the defence was sufficiently dizzy and Presley, seeing the space, sent out a long pass to winger Adam Dent, who cut inside Hunte to score his second.

Pat Smith followed with another solo surge which the Bears could not handle, shoving off one final attempted tackle to touch down his second.

The visitors had the last word, albeit after a controversial turnover in centrefield - referee Jon Roberts waving play on after the Bears seemingly stole possession two-on-one.

They smartly got the ball to Hunte in space and no one was likely to catch him.

The winger ran round to the posts, but Coleman missed the conversion – having the good nature to laugh along with the home fans as he made his way back for the restart.

 

MATCH FACTS:

Knights: B Dent 7, A Dent 7, Minikin 7, Craig 7, Morrison 6, P Smith 8, Presley 7, Applegarth 6, Brining 6, Aldous 7, E Smith 7, Tonks 8, Mallinder 6. Subs (all used): Carter 7, Pickles 6, Nicholson 7, Learmonth 7.


Tries: P Smith 4, 73; Brining 7; Minikin 17; Carter 20; Craig 28; A Dent 41, 70.
Conversions: B Dent 4, 7, 41, 70, 73.
Penalties: none.
Sin-binned: none.
Sent off: none.


Coventry: Guzdek, Hunte, Parker, Medforth, Chapman-Carry, Sheen, Boulter, Geurtjens, Brown, Hall, Thompson, Barratt, Phillips. Subs (all used): Hughes, Reid, Cooper, Coleman.
Tries: Hughes 49; Hunte 77.
Conversions: Coleman 49.
Penalties: none
Sin-binned: none.
Sent off: none.


Man of the match: Josh Tonks – York’s in-form second-row ran hard all day, taking up several good angles and always getting quick play-the-balls to help his side get on the front foot.


Referee: Jon Roberts (Leeds) – all right, although the second half was pretty slow as he didn’t clamp down on sluggish rucks.
Penalties: 6-4.


Half-time: 24-0.


Attendance: 498.


Weather: nice – everyone was thankful there was no rain.


Moment of the match: Pat Smith, Greg Minikin and Tyler Craig scored good solo tries but the pick was probably Adam Dent’s second touchdown – not because of the finish or Jonny Presley’s long scoring pass, but because of Harry Carter’s mesmeric weaving run beforehand that created the space, taking out several players and leaving the rest dizzy.


Gaffe of the match: Jamahl Hunte might be lightning quick but he wasn’t going to be quick enough to get back after he dropped a pass on his own line to hand Adam Dent an easy try at the start of the second half.


Gamebreaker: Coventry needed to score first in the second half to have any chance of a sniff, but Jamahl Hunte’s gaffe and Adam Dent’s try made it 30-0.


Match rating: first half was good but the second half was flat until finishing with a flourish in the last ten minutes.